From the colonial exhibition to the Museum of Man. An alternative genealogy of French anthropologytextjournalArticleDe L’EstoileBenoîtautThe 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition, usually looked upon as an instance of colonial picturesque, may in fact be seen as a missing link in the history of French anthropology. Anthropology, both a symbol and an instrument of the new Native policy promoted by the organisers, played a key role in the project of displaying to the public the diversity of the peoples of the empires. The Exhibition provided a venue for anthropological conferences and opportunities for fieldwork, as it gave a prominent place to ethnographic documents, native artefacts and performers. In a sense, it appears as a rehearsal for the Museum of Man that was to be the heart of the discipline. ER - End of Referencejournal59792007-11-22 14:45:41continuingSocial anthropology/Anthropologie Sociale